Clothespin



July ll, 1950 w. E. HERNDON CLOTHESPIN Filed Aug. 1, 1946 al .7. um /U la f 7 .lo ll 4l 3 n ,n w w l.

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@hmmag Patented July 11, 114950 CLOTHESPIN l William E. Herndon, Marshall, M0.

ApplicationAugust 1, 1946, Serial No. 687,623*

" 1 claim. (o1. zei-1,37) Y This invention relates to clamping devices and more particularly to clothespins.

The conventional type of clothespins are usually constructed of wood, the jaws are not selfaligning, and they are usually tensioned by one spring which tensions the handle portion with ,one of its ends, and tensions the head or gripping portions with the other end of the same spring. The springs are easily broken or jump outof place and allow the newly washed clothing to fall to the ground and become dirty, this requires rewashing and perhaps serious damage to the clothing.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a new and improved form of clothespin that will avoid one or more of the disadvantages and limitations of the prior art.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved clothespin which will beindependently tensioned at its separate ends.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved clothespin that will have its parts self-aligning with each other by the unique placements of its tensioning members.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved clothespin that can be made of wood, plastics or metals.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved clothespin that will be operative even though part of its tensioning means becomes broken and unoperative.

Other objects will become apparent as the invention is morefully set forth.

For a `clearer understanding of the invention reference is made to the appended drawings and f the following description, which together illustrate a particular form of the invention by way of example, while the scope of the claims especially points out the field of the invention.

`The construction shown in the drawings is `referred to in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the clothespin em- `bodying the invention,

for guiding the clothes line towards the'holes I3' and I4 to engage and hold materials on a clothes line. The movement of the members II is made possible by shaping the inner faces I6 of the gripping jaws parallel tothe outer faces Il and the fact that the inner faces |18 of the handles are angularly positioned in relation to the inner faces I6 of the gripping jaws I2 to allow greater opening of the jaws for positioning the holes I3 and I4 over the objects to be held to the clothes line. A transverse groove I9 is provided in the outer faces I'l of the gripping member to retain the edge of va spring therein. A slot 20 passes through the gripper jaws and meets longitudinal grooves 2| positioned in the inner faces of the handles 15 at the lower end and the slot also meets a longitudinal groove 22 positioned in the outer faces I'I. A flat, U-shaped tension member 23 preferably ofspringy material is provided with edges 24 for positioning in grooves I9, and has its side members 23 extending in longitudinal grooves 22 and its rear Wall 26 extending in slot 20. The rear wall 26 has a medial indentation 2l therein for centering purposes. This spring 23 applies pressure directly to the gripping jaws to keep same in closed position. In the same slot 20 is positioned another tensioning member Z8 having a back wall 29 which contacts rear wall 26 of member 23 and a protruding element 3U for positioning in the indentation 21 to prevent independent up and down movement of the rear wall 25 and back wall 29. Leg members 3l forming part of tensioning member 28 are positioned in longitudinal grooves 2l in the inner angular faces I8 of the handles I5 to keep the handles spread apart and assist the tensioning member 23 in keeping the gripping members in closed position.

In the operation of the device, the handles are compressed `to overcome the compression of the tensioning members and allow the gripping members to open wide enough to allow the clothes line and the object to be held thereon to pass into the desired hole, the pressure is released from the handles and the aforementioned springs cause the clothespin to properly grip the object and line and hold same together. To remove the object from the line, the handles are compressed together causing the gripping jaws to open and be released from the lines.

While but one general form of the invention is shown in the drawings and described in the specification, it is not desired` to limit this application for patent to this particular form as it is appreciated that other forms of construction could be made that would use the same principles and come Within the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

A clothes pin comprising two members having coa-cting jaw portions and divergent handle portions, said jaw portions having corresponding external longitudinal grooves beginning :at a point spaced from the terminal ends of, said jaw portions and extending inwardly of the clothes' pin, the longitudinal grooves being connected at their inward terminal ends by a transverse slot, a U- shaped spring having its legs extending in said longitudinal grooves and its base in said slot, `the legs of said spring having end projections-received 4 internal grooves of said handle portions, and interlocking means between said U-shaped spring and said T-shaped spring.

WILLIAM E. HERNDON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PA'I'ENTS Number Name 4 Date 166,160 Topping Judy 27, 1875 1,679,196 Zieburtz July 31, 1928 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 22,306- Australia of 1935 168,108 Switzerland June 1, 1934 235,030 Switzerland Feb. 1, 1945 

